June 29, 2017
Consumer Tip of the week: Check your credit reports for free. Did you know that by law the credit reporting agencies have to give you a free copy of your credit report once a year? Because there are three main companies that do credit reports you can get one every four months. Go to the FTC site for these, and avoid advertising and frauds. The FTC just put out a new blog discussing how this works.
Science article asks why more technology is not being used to thwart phone scams
Four people arrested in the UK for tech support fraud; Microsoft worked with UK police
Social group in Nigeria trying to teach “Yahoo boys” skills to start and run legitimate businesses
Nigerian rapper sentenced in Idaho; used ID theft to create bogus ATM cards and withdraw cash
Other International Enforcement and News
- Australia arrests two Latvians; had been advertising goods on the internet with Google ads, but just keeping money; took in at least $250,000
- At least two suicides over money lost to binary options investment fraud; Israeli parliament moves to ban these companies from operating there
- Nigerian gang arrested in London; stole ID’s of members of parliament, judges, and police and applied for tax credits; took in £2.5 million; two still on the lam
- Couple flees the UK
Robocalls
Pet Fraud
- Two Cameroonian students jailed in Pennsylvania for running pet fraud
- Florida woman loses $2700 in puppy fraud
IRS and Tax Scams
- Indian man arrested in Pennsylvania for role in IRS impersonation fraud
- Two in San Jose, California plead guilty to stealing ID’s from homeless Vietnamese and filing bogus tax returns
ATM Skimming
Romance Scam Fraud
Ransomware
- Experts believe Petya ransomware was an attack – not really an effort to obtain ransom
- Prisons in England and Wales hit by WannaCry ransomware
- Ransomware victims rarely complain to the FBI
- Another major ransomware attack moving across the world
- New FTC video suggests backing up data and avoiding ransomware on your PC
Jamaica Sweepstakes Fraud
Just for fun….
Driving the Autobahn with no speed limit
Add to the News! Have you seen a recent prosecution or other fraud information that others should know about? Send it into the Baker Fraud Report at steve@bakerfraudreport.com